Yakima is Top Ten For National Minimum Wage Buying Power

The debate can and will rage on about the wisdom and impact of raising the minimum wage.  It will no doubt show up in presidential politics and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see it turn up in Yakima.  That’s a conversation for the future. For now, just how well are we doing with the current wage and cost of living structure?  Comparatively speaking –pretty dang good!

According to a study of the 141 largest cities in the U.S.by SmartAsset ( Read the 2016 version here), a combination of higher than the national average minimum wage and lower than national average cost of living, puts four of the top cities on the list from Washington.  At number one is Kennewick where $9.47 an hour buys $9.97 worth of stuff.   Not bad Kennewick, that’s two years in a row at number one but you’re down a nickel in buying power this year.  Number three is Spokane, Tacoma is number six and number seven is …drum roll please….Yakima, Washington where $9.47 an hour buys $9.85 worth of nationally averaged priced goods and services.

On the other end of the scale are five out of ten cities from the Northeast –Surprise!—with the worst bang for the buck being out west—WAAAY out west in beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii where $8.50 of hard work each hour gets you $4.52 at the cash register.

What price paradise?  Well, now you know!